Whitt, 27, was TriStar’s primary driver in 2017 but requested a limited schedule this year in the No. 72 Chevrolet, so seat time was split with Corey Lajoie. Sunday was his 13th start, and he finished 25th.

More NASCAR!

In its post, TriStar said Whitt has “elected (to) hang up his helmet and step away from life behind the wheel.” Whitt previously said he was pondering his future and wanted to spend more time with his family, one of the reasons why he chose not to compete full-time this year.

Whitt has 161 career starts in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series with no top-10 finishes. His average finish is 29.4.

Across the Camping World Truck and Xfinity Series, Whitt has 81 starts with 29 top-10 and six top-five finishes.

Bittersweet day for us as one of our all-time favorites has elected to move on to the next phase of his life. Thank you @ColeWhitt for the memories!! We’re going to miss you but are happy that you are following your heart and wish you the very best!! pic.twitter.com/hWqAFfGI5U

Kelly Crandall

Kelly has been on the NASCAR beat full-time since 2013, and joined RACER as chief NASCAR writer in 2017. Her work has also appeared in NASCAR.com, the NASCAR Illustrated magazine, and NBC Sports. A corporate communications graduate from Central Penn College, Crandall is a two-time George Cunningham Writer of the Year recipient from the National Motorsports Press Association.